Bhagavata Mela

Bhagavata Mela is a classical Indian dance that is performed in Tamil Nadu, particularly the Thanjavur area. It is choreographed as an annual Vaishnavism tradition in Melattur and nearby regions, and celebrated as a dance-drama performance art. The dance art has roots in a historic migration of Kuchipudi artists from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, another Indian classical dance art.

The term Bhagavata, state Brandon and Banham, refers to the Hindu text Bhagavata Purana.Mela is a Sanskrit word that means "gathering, meeting of a group" and connotes a folk festival. The traditional Bhagavata Mela performance acts out the legends of Hinduism, set to the Carnatic style music.

The origins of the Bhagavata Mela are in Kuchipudi, another more ancient classical Indian dance, found in Andhra Pradesh. The invasion of the region by Islamic armies led to the fall of a Hindu empire, which triggered the mass migration of Hindu performance artist families to Tamil Nadu in 16th century, where the dance evolved into modern Bhagavata Mela. Prior to its fall, the court records of the Deccan region based Vijayanagara Empire – known for its patronage of the Indian religions and arts – indicate that drama-dance troupes of Bhagavatas from Kuchipudi village performed at the royal court. The region saw wars and political turmoil, ending in the formation of Deccan Sultanates in 16th century. With the fall of Vijayanagara Empire and the destruction of temples and Deccan cities by the Muslim army around 1565, musicians and dance-drama artists migrated south, and Tanjore kingdom records indicate that some 500 such Kuchipudi artist families arrived from Andhra, were welcomed and granted land by the Hindu king Achyutappa Nayak, a settlement that grew to become modern Melattur near Tanjore (also called Thanjavur). These families maintained their Kuchipudi-inspired dance drama culture, in a form called Bhagavata Mela.

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